1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photographic photosensitive material and a photographic printing system, and in particular, to a photographic photosensitive material on which an image is recorded and a photographic printing system which carries out printing processing on the basis of the image recorded on the photographic photosensitive material.
2. Description of the Related Art
A widely-used conventional photographic photosensitive material, such as a negative film used for recording color images, is structured such that a blue-sensitive emulsion layer containing a dye (coupler) which colors to yellow, a green-sensitive emulsion layer containing a dye which colors to magenta, and a red-sensitive emulsion layer containing a dye which colors to cyan, are layered on a film base.
The dye which colors to magenta and the dye which colors to cyan function to control only the green light and the red light, respectively. However, these dyes unnecessarily absorb small amounts of light of other colors as well, resulting in a deterioration in color reproducibility at the time of color printing. Thus, a coupler which is colored (what is known as a xe2x80x9ccolored couplerxe2x80x9d) is included in the above photographic photosensitive material so that, when color printing is carried out, negative images which should not have been absorbed are masked and eliminated (i.e., xe2x80x9cmaskingxe2x80x9d is carried out) and color correction is performed. In FIG. 11, the spectral density of the magenta dye is illustrated by the solid line, and the spectral density of the colored coupler is illustrated by the dashed line. As development proceeds, the curve which illustrates the spectral density characteristic of the magenta dye shifts in the direction illustrated by the solid arrow in the figure, and thus the density of the blue increases correspondingly. However, as development proceeds, the curve of the spectral density characteristic of the colored coupler shifts in the direction illustrated by the dashed arrow in the figure, and thus the density of the blue decreases correspondingly. Therefore, regardless of the extent to which the magenta dye colors, the blue density remains constant and thus does not affect color reproduction.
Because an image of a photograph is formed by a chemical reaction known as development, the products of the chemical reaction are dispersed and inhibit the development of their surroundings. This effect is the edge effect caused by a DIR coupler as will be described later. On the other hand, when the products of the chemical reaction disperse into other photosensitive layers, the interaction which suppresses development is known as the interimage effect. This development as expressed by color reversal film characteristic curves is shown in FIG. 12. In FIG. 12, the solid lines are the characteristic curves at the time red exposure is carried out, and the dashed line is the characteristic curve for only cyan at the time that white exposure is carried out. When white exposure is carried out, the gradation properties are affected due to the suppression of development caused by the interaction between the magenta and yellow layers. This effect contributes to an improvement in color saturation, and is widely used on silver halide photographic films.
Such a photographic film includes a so-called DIR coupler (development inhibitor releasing coupler) which works to improve the sharpness of the image. For example, if the original density of an image is as shown in FIG. 13A, the DIR coupler causes an edge effect at the boundary portions of the image such that the sharpness is enhanced and the density of the image becomes as shown in FIG. 13B.
In recent years, digital printing systems have come to be known in which a film image recorded on a photographic film such as that described above is read by a CCD scanner or the like so as to obtain digital image data of the image frame, and printing exposure onto a photographic printing paper is carried out on the basis of the obtained digital image data. In such a digital printing system, various types of correction are carried out on the read image data by digital image processing.
When the reading of the image is carried out by a CCD scanner, due to masking, the blue density tends to increase and the blue sensitivity tends to be insufficient. Thus, it is difficult to read the image at high speed and a high S/N ratio. If no colored coupler for color correction is included in the photographic photosensitive material so that there is no masking effect and instead color correction is carried out through image processing, the image can be scanned at a high speed and a high S/N ratio. In particular, with lens-fitted film packages, because the diaphragm and shutter speed are fixed, there is a tendency toward extreme overexposure, and thus, the aforementioned method is effective. In addition, if no DIR coupler is included in the photographic photosensitive material and sharpness enhancement is carried out by image processing, the photographic film can be manufactured less expensively.
However, the following problems arise when processing photographic films which are used exclusively for digital image processing and which do not contain any colored coupler or DIR coupler (hereinafter, such films are referred to as xe2x80x9cdigital filmsxe2x80x9d). When a digital film is subjected to printing processing in a conventional analog printing system, the obtained image is of low quality because color correction and sharpness enhancement cannot be carried out in the image processing. Further, a low-quality image is obtained also when a digital film is processed in a digital printing system under conditions for processing conventional films.
In view of the aforementioned, an object of the present invention is to provide a photographic photosensitive material and a photographic printing system in which deterioration in image quality can be prevented even if a photographic photosensitive material which does not include a color correction function or a sharpness enhancement function is subjected to printing processing.
A first aspect of the present invention is a photographic photosensitive material which either has only one of or none of a color correcting function for carrying out color correction of an image which has been subjected to developing processing and a sharpness enhancing function for enhancing sharpness of the image which has been subjected to developing processing, wherein an identification code is recorded on the photographic photosensitive material, the identification code expressing that the photographic photosensitive material either has only one of or none of the color correcting function and the sharpness enhancing function.
In a second aspect of the present invention, in the photographic photosensitive material of the first aspect, the color correcting function is due to at least one of a colored coupler and an interimage effect.
In a third aspect of the present invention, in the photographic photosensitive material of the first aspect, the sharpness enhancing function is due to a DIR coupler.
A fourth aspect of the present invention, in the photographic photosensitive material of the first aspect, the identification code is recorded optically or magnetically onto the photographic photosensitive material, or is recorded onto a storage element provided at a cartridge accommodating the photographic photosensitive material.
In a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the photographic photosensitive material of the first aspect, the identification code is displayed on a surface of a cartridge accommodating the photographic photosensitive material.
A sixth aspect of the present invention is a photographic printing system for carrying out printing processing on the basis of an image recorded on a photographic photosensitive material other than the photographic photosensitive material of the first aspect, comprising: identification code reading means for reading the identification code recorded on the photographic photosensitive material of the first aspect; and notifying means for, in a case in which the identification code is read by the identification code reading means, carrying out one of notification and a processing for making printing impossible.
In accordance with the first aspect, the photographic photosensitive material has either one of or none of a color correcting function, for carrying out color correction of an image which has been subjected to developing processing, and a sharpness enhancing function, for enhancing the sharpness of the image. An identification code is recorded on the photographic photosensitive material. The identification code expresses that the photographic photosensitive material either has only one of or none of the color correcting function and the sharpness enhancing function. By reading the identification code, it can be easily determined that the photographic photosensitive material is a digital film. Further, the photographic photosensitive material is inexpensive because it either has only one of or none of the color correcting function and the sharpness enhancing function.
It is desirable that the color correcting function is at least one of a colored coupler and an interimage effect, as in the second aspect of the present invention. In this way, the color reproduction at the time of developing can be improved. Further, it is desirable that the sharpness enhancing function includes the DIR coupler, as in the third aspect. In this way, an image whose sharpness is enhanced at the time of development can be obtained.
As in the fourth aspect, the identification code may be recorded onto the photographic photosensitive material either optically or magnetically. The identification code may be recorded on a storage element provided at the cartridge accommodating the photographic photosensitive material. Further, if the entire surface of the film is coated with a transparent magnetic layer, the identification code can be recorded in the image recording region.
Alternatively, as in the fifth aspect, the identification code may be displayed (e.g., by means of a bar-code) on a surface of a cartridge accommodating the photographic photosensitive material.
The sixth aspect of the present invention is a printing system for carrying out printing processing on the basis of an image recorded on a photographic photosensitive material other than the photographic photosensitive material of the first aspect, i.e., an image recorded on an ordinary photographic photosensitive material. In this printing system, the identification code recorded on the photographic photosensitive material of the first aspect is read by the identification code reading means. Then, if the identification code is read, a judgment is made that the photographic photosensitive material on which the identification code is recorded is a photographic photosensitive material of the first aspect. In this case, a notification means gives notice that such a situation exists and/or the shutter is made unable to open and close such that printing processing cannot be carried out. Therefore, photographic photosensitive materials of the first aspect are not mistakenly processed.
A seventh aspect of the present invention is a photographic printing system able to carry out printing processing on the basis of an image recorded on the photographic photosensitive material of the first aspect, comprising: identification code reading means for reading the identification code recorded on the photographic photosensitive material of the first aspect; a light source for illuminating light onto the photographic photosensitive material; image forming means for forming an image of light which has been emitted from the light source and has passed through the photographic photosensitive material; image reading means for, on the basis of image reading conditions corresponding to the read identification code, reading the image formed by the image forming means; color correcting means for, on the basis of color correcting conditions corresponding to the read identification code, carrying out color correction on the image read by the image reading means; and sharpness enhancing means for, on the basis of sharpness processing conditions corresponding to the read identification code, carrying out sharpness enhancement on the image read by the image reading means.
In a eighth aspect of the present invention, in the photographic printing system of the sixth aspect, the image reading conditions are conditions which make at least one of (A) the amount of the light emitted from the light source and illuminated onto the photographic photosensitive material, and (B) the charge accumulating time of the image reading means, less than that of an ordinary photographic photosensitive material.
The seventh aspect of the present invention is a photographic printing system which can carry out printing processing on the basis of an image recorded on the photographic photosensitive material of the first aspect. The identification code recorded on the photographic photosensitive material of the first aspect is read by the identification code reading means. Then, the image forming means forms an image of the light which is emitted from the light source and passes through the photographic photosensitive material. In a case in which the identification code is read by the identification code reading means, the formed image is read by the image reading means under image reading conditions which correspond to the read identification code. Further, when the identification code is read by the identification code reading means, the color correcting means carries out color correction on the read image under color correction conditions corresponding to the read identification code, and the sharpness enhancing means carries out sharpness enhancement on the read image under sharpness processing conditions corresponding to the identification code.
When a photographic photosensitive material does not include a colored coupler, the base density is lower than that of an ordinary photographic photosensitive material. Therefore, when the image is read under ordinary image reading conditions by an image reading means such as a CCD or the like, the output of the CCD becomes saturated. Therefore, in the eighth aspect, the image reading conditions are conditions which lower at least one of the amount of light emitted from the light source and illuminated onto the photographic photosensitive material, and the charge accumulating time of the image reading means. In this way, the CCD output does not become saturated.
Because processing is carried out under image reading conditions, color correction conditions, and sharpness processing conditions which correspond to the identification code, the image quality does not deteriorate even when a photographic photosensitive material which does not have a color correcting function or a sharpness enhancing function is subjected to printing processing.